Cebu : An Instagram Photo Tour of my Beloved Hometown

May 30, 2016

The flight back to Cebu was unexpected. When I learned of my mother-in-law's demise, I lamented of my husband's loss. He lost both of his parents in two consecutive years: this year his mom and last year his dad.

I never saw my husband shed a tear, no not even one. Could it be that he's good at hiding his emotions away? The moment we heard of mommy's sudden demise, we immediately made a decision to booked a flight back to Cebu without ever exchanging a word. I could read his mind vividly as he could read mine. And so a day's worth of journey begins...

We drove 2 hours and a half to Houston from Austin to get to our flight to Taiwan. Air travel from Houston to Taiwan took us 15 hours. Then from Taiwan to Cebu air travel took us another 3 hours. Whew! What a long journey indeed.

Because we arrived the weekend before the elections, I've made sure to vote for the President that I love to ensure his victory. Never mind the 3-4 hours queue I had to endure, given that I would be traveling another 3-4 hour from Cebu City to Madridejos, Bantayan Island the same day to attend my mother-in-law's wake. I'm glad that the President that I love won. #Du30

On my way to vote, I've passed by Lexmark Research & Development Corporation building. This is the first company where I've kicked off my IT career.

Santa Fe, Bantayan Island's port never ceases to be an eye candy.

My husband and his siblings on mommy's interment. :'(

Cebu with all of it's gory and glory.

Ah, this is where I've earned my diploma at the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Seeing my beloved hometown, Cebu, to what it is now breaks my heart. The traffic is unbearable, the crowd is overflowing, poor living conditions are noticeable, dilapidated buildings can be seen in plain sight.

If you've been following my blog, you'd remember an update I've done of our vacation house back in the Cebu some time ago: The Vacation Home : A Year After. Me and my husband have never set foot here until this trip.

The husband together with our family (his side) enjoyed the swimming pool in our subdivision one fine afternoon.

And of course, a Filipino wouldn't forget the tastes of authentic Filipino cuisine.

Three weeks spent with loved ones back to Cebu felt like mere seconds. As of writing, I could still remember my lola's (grandmother) kiss when she bid her goodbye to me while I was still sleeping. I could still hear my mother's laughter vividly in my mind.

These fresh memories of them never fail to bring me back to tears. How I've longed to be with them again. Their love for me will always remain in my heart wherever I may be.

On our way back to Austin, we took a short trip to Taipei, Taiwan. Thanks to Eva Air for the 8 hours layover. I would be detailing this short trip to Taiwan on a next blog post.

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Hi! I'm Gladys Jane - I'm a work from home Software Test Engineer and a full-time momma to Gionni Yitzhak. I was raised in Cebu, Philippines, got married in Singapore and currently living in [the United States of America] Canada. I like to learn/experience something new every single day. And I'm grateful to be alive and share the joy of living with the people I cherish the most.